Off The Chart
by CanadaB
Summary: Farscape & Stargate: Atlantis crossover. John Crichton meets John Sheppard.
1. Chapter 1

**Off The Chart**

Author: CanadaB

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one from this story.

Rating: M – for language and suggestive themes

Spoilers: Mid-way through Season 2 for Atlantis (current as of 8/26/05), and Season 2 (then AU future) for Farscape

Summary: Farscape/Stargate: Atlantis crossover – John Crichton meets John Sheppard.

Beyond the Uncharted Territories

John wandered around the latest planet that he and his misfit crew had found, pondering his circumstances to himself. It had been more than five cycles since he'd been shot through the wormhole and ended up on the edge of the Uncharted Territories and became part of Moya's vagabond crew. Along with D'Argo, Aeryn, Zhaan, Rygel, and Chiana, Moya had been voyaging deeper and deeper into the Uncharted Territories trying to elude first Crais and then Scorpius. They had go so far in that they apparently came out the far side, in a place the locals called the Pegasus Galaxy – someplace that had never even heard of the Peacekeepers.

John looked, really looked, at the planet on which he found himself. It was nice. Earth-like even. Primitive, non-technologically advanced Earth, but Earth nonetheless. It was times like these when he really missed his home planet. Most of the time he could push that thought to the back of his brain and forget it for a while, but not during times like these. The people seemed so human to him that he often forgot that they were Sebecean and not Human at all.

But there was something about this particular planet that thoroughly intrigued and excited him. It wasn't anything tangible. It was their language. He noticed immediately that they spoke some bastardized version of English. It made his heart sing. It was the closest he'd ever come to Earth. The last three arns he'd taken to just wandering around and listening to people, just to hear the language. A language he could understand, even without the translator microbes in his head. A language he loved to listen to, even if he did still have trouble speaking in every once in awhile.

"John," Aeryn's voice broke into his thoughts. He turned to face his lover as she sauntered up to him.

"Hey, Aeryn. What's up?" He asked, hoping that it wasn't time to head back to Moya yet.

"I just thought you might like a friend right about now." She hesitantly placed her hand in his. "It can't be easy to hear these people speak a language so similar to your own, yet have the planet so far away."

John nodded, and the two turned to keep walking.

"I've just been walking around listening to them. I can almost pretend I'm home."

The two continued on in comfortable silence for awhile. As they drew closer to the center of town they noticed that the monument in the center square began to light up. What earlier had seemed to be a sculpture suddenly seemed to have a life of its own. Without warning, it looked like a fountain shot horizontally out to the ring. The water just as quickly rushed back in upon itself until just a vertical field of water was shimmering inside the circle.

"What is that?" Aeryn asked rhetorically, but John answered anyway.

"No idea." He tugged on her hand as he started toward the center square to get a better look at the object. "Let's go check it out."

John and Aeryn made their way through the crowd, only to stop dead in their tracks when four people stepped out of the water, which then dissipated behind them. John studied the four new arrivals, three men and one woman. One of the men, the tallest, had dreadlocks in his hair and was wearing what looked like leather. The other three were in some semblance of military uniform. But what made John breath literally catch in his throat were the weapons that they carried. Those were NOT Peacekeeper weapons – they were too "primitive" for that.

"Hello," the tallest man in a uniform spoke, and raised his hand in a tentative greeting.

John was certain that he was squeezing Aeryn's hand so tight that if she was Human it would be broken by now.

"That's English," he whispered in disbelief. Aeryn stepped closer to her lover, trying to offer him her support and strength just be being near him.

"We mean you no harm," the female said. It was plain to anyone who knew the language that this was not her native tongue, but she still spoke it fluently.

The townsfolk stepped away to continue on with their daily routines as the four new arrivals stepped down of the platform where the ring stood. John and Aeryn didn't move. That drew the new arrivals' attention to the two of them.

The apparent leader of the four warily looked John and Aeryn up and down, obviously sizing them up – deciding whether they were friend or foe. Apparently he decided that for the moment they weren't them enemy. The man approached John and Aeryn and stopped a few feet in front of them.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. This is Doctor Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronan Dex." He had motioned to the others as he'd introduced them.

John just stared at the man he now knew as John Sheppard. Aeryn nudged John when the silence had drug on too long. Crichton shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then just blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"Lieutenant Colonel?" When John got too nervous or excited he still had trouble forming words, even three cycles after having Scorpius' chip and his speech capabilities removed from his brain.

John Sheppard smiled and nodded. "It's a military rank," he explained.  
"I know," Crichton replied, still trying to process everything. The man not only spoke English but he sounded American. John thought he'd test his theory. He took a deep breath to try to calm him mind so that he could speak properly. "Which branch?"

The Lt. Colonel cocked his head in question then hesitantly answered, "United States Air Force." The man introduced as Dr. McKay looked like he was about to say something but Sheppard held up his hand to silence his teammate.

"Air Force," Crichton breathed out. "I had a cousin in the Air Force," he spoke slowly trying to make sure not to grammatically mutilate the sentence.

"You had . . ." Sheppard seemed to be trying to process that statement. "How did you have a cousin in the US Air Force?"

"Um, I'm from Earth?" John shrugged his shoulders, knowing that sounded weak even to his ears.

"How is that possible?" McKay couldn't keep quiet any longer. He looked like his head would explode if he didn't get some answers soon.

"Ah . . . pod . . . ah . . . wormhole . . . five cycles," John stammered. Thinking about wormholes actually tended to cause him physical pain since Scorpius, and speaking the word almost made him collapse.

"What's your name?" Sheppard asked warily, at the same time that McKay screeched, "Wormhole?"

"Commander John Crichton." Aeryn answered Sheppard for John, knowing what he was going through after having spoken the word wormhole. She then turned to McKay. "Yes, a wormhole. It was unstable though and he's never been able to get back."

"Unstable? No Stargate?" McKay muttered under his breath then seemed to withdraw into himself to work through the problem.

Sheppard just stared at John as if he was trying to remember him from somewhere. He snapped his fingers, "You're the astronaut!"

"Yeah," Crichton replied weakly, the pain slowly ebbing away; a slow smile spreading across his face at the thought that someone from his planet knew who he was. He couldn't believe it – there were Humans, Earth Humans – standing on the same planet with him. Speaking of. . . "How . . . did you. . . get here?"

"We traveled through the Stargate," Teyla spoke again, she was obviously the one the played peace keeper within her team.

"What's a Stargate?" Aeryn asked before John could ask.

The Lt. Colonel motioned over his left shoulder to the giant ring that they had just exited. "That is."

"How does it work?' Aeryn questioned while John stared at the Stargate intensely, as if it held all the answers in the universe.

"It creates a stable wormhole between two 'Gates. We traveled from our planet to this planet almost instantaneously." McKay had rattled the information off so fast that it took John a moment to process it.

"A stable . . . w – w – wormhole?" John sounded almost panicked, and his face had flushed to nearly white. Aeryn didn't look much better. If Scorpius ever found out . . . well, better just to not even think about it.

"Are you two okay?" Sheppard asked, seeing their dramatic reaction to being told what the Stargate does. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Crichton was starting to visibly shake, and Aeryn looked like she had seen a ghost. Aeryn was the first to recover her senses, shaking her head to clear her tumultuous thoughts. She roughly turned Crichton to face her and placed both her hands on the sides of his face.

"John, look at me," she spoke harshly, trying to get his attention. "Crichton!" She shook his head. "Focus on me. Look in to my eyes." John snapped his eyes to hers. Aeryn gratefully smiled. "Now, take a deep breath and focus my eyes." John tried to take a deep breath. "Good. Now another. Keep looking at me John." She continued to talk him back into the present moment and out of the terror and pain in his mind. After several hundred microts John finally blinked, and when he opened his grey-green eyes, there was recognition in them. Aeryn literally breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled John in to a tight embrace.

The team that had come through the Stargate watched the scene with wary and confusion. They were even more confused when Aeryn turned and led John away from them.

"Hey," Sheppard hollered. "Where are you going?"

"He needs to rest," Aeryn tossed back over her shoulder as she continued to lead John back through the town.

Sheppard watched them walk away for a moment then glanced at his team. They all shrugged their shoulders then trudged off after Aeryn and John.

Please read & review. Should I continue with this story, or just bag it?


	2. That's Why You Look Familiar

**Off The Chart**

Author: CanadaB

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one from this story.

Rating: M – for language and suggestive themes

Spoilers: Mid-way through Season 2 for Atlantis (current as of 9/23/05), and Season 2 (then AU future) for Farscape.

Summary: Farscape/Stargate: Atlantis crossover – John Crichton meets John Sheppard.

at his team. They all shrugged their shoulders then trudged off after Aeryn and John.

That's Why You Look Familiar

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronan Dex silently followed Commander John Crichton and Officer Aeryn Sun through the town. Well, silent until Rodney couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Where exactly are we going?" He blurted.

"Rodney!" "Dr. McKay!" Sheppard and Teyla, respectively, hissed at him.

Aeryn turned and glanced over her shoulder at them. "Back to our ship so that John can rest. I'll explain everything there." She continued onward, supporting her lover as he tried to recover from the discussion of wormholes.

"Ship?" Sheppard and McKay silently mouthed to each other in confusion.

Within ten minutes the six of them were climbing in to a bronze-colored ship.

"Nice ship," Sheppard commented, looking around.

Aeryn looked at him like he had grown a second head before answering him in a tone that indicated that he should have known exactly what she was talking about.

"It's a shuttle. Our ship is in orbit."

"Oh." Sheppard stammered. "I knew that." Teyla was smiling softly at her commanding officer, while Ronan nearly grinned trying not to laugh.

The six passengers rode in silence as the shuttle made its way through the atmosphere and in to orbit.

"What is that?" Asked Teyla, regarding a large object floating in space.

"That," replied Aeryn, "is Moya." Seeing their blank looks she clarified, "Our ship."

"That's your ship?" John nearly squeaked. It was like no ship he had seen before, not even the Ancient's Aurora that he'd been on. He was unable to tear his eyes away from Moya as the shuttle flew closer.

"What kind of ship is she?" Rodney asked, his scientific mind already running through all possible solutions.

"She a Leviathan," came the raspy reply of a slightly roused John Crichton.

"What is a Leviathan?" Teyla queried for her team.

"She's a bio-mechanoid." Crichton let that sink in for a moment. He didn't have to wait long.

"Your ship is alive!" Rodney shouted. "But . . . but . . ."

"The ability to make Rodney speechless," Sheppard remarked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I like your ship already." He just grinned as Rodney glared at him. Teyla and Ronan simple smiled.

As the shuttle docked, Crichton climbed shakily to his feet. When Aeryn moved to help him he shook his head, she just rolled her eyes and headed down the steps of the shuttle in to the docking bay of Moya. Crichton followed unsteadily behind her, with Sheppard, McKay, Teyla, and then Ronan behind him.

"Let's head to the mess," John suggested. "I need a drink." Traversing from the hanger to the mess, the Atlantis crew was in awe of the ship, with Rodney bombarding Aeryn with questions about Moya and how she worked. They found themselves in the mess soon enough. Crichton sat down at the table and Aeryn poured him a drink, the rest also sat around the large table. After the others declined her offer she too sat at the table, next to her lover to be able to offer him her support.

"So," Crichton began. "You're all from Earth?" He asked looking around the table at the visitors.

"Um, not exactly," Sheppard began. "Rodney and I are, but Teyla and Ronan are from other planets in this galaxy." Crichton nodded in understanding. "How did you end up out here in the Pegasus Galaxy, John? Is it alright if I call you John?"

"John's fine," Crichton replied. "As to your first question, I think that Aeryn ought to answer it, other wise I'm going to end up in too much pain to tell you anything else." The others looked confused, but looked to Aeryn for explanations.

"Approximately five cycles ago," she began.

"Years," Crichton interpreted for their guests.

"Right," Aeryn corrected. "About five _years_ ago, John was working on an experimental space program called Farscape. During his test flight, he tried a sling-shot maneuver off of Earth's atmosphere, but due to the unexpected solar flares he unknowingly created an unstable wormhole." She paused at Crichton's flinch, and placed her hand on his back. She held up her hand to forestall the questions that Rodney was opening his mouth to ask.

"John was shot through the wormhole and ended up in the middle of a battle at the edge of the Uncharted Territories. He and his pod were brought aboard Moya, and he's been here ever since. I, too, was brought aboard that day. When Moya Starburst, my prowler was close enough to her that I was pulled along: I was then taken prisoner.

"The Peacekeepers, my people, are not tolerant of other races, and I was deemed irrevocably contaminated and cast out. I've been on Moya and with her crew, including John, ever since.

"At first, we were being hunted by my former commanding officer, Crais – you see, when John first emerged out of the wormhole, his pod crashed into Crais' brother's prowler and killed him. Crais swore he would avenge his brother's death and he began to hunt John, and Moya, deeper in to the Uncharted Territories. After a few cycles, ah . . . years, Crais too was cast out of the Peacekeepers. But he had tortured John for information on wormholes, and Scorpius got ahold of the information. So, Crais no longer chased us, he even helped us a time or two, but now Scorpius was trying to capture John to force the wormhole knowledge out of him.

"Within a . . . year. . . , Scorpius planted a chip in John's brain to try to gather the information that he was seeking. A few years ago, we managed to get it removed, but the chip had a netting, for lack of a better word, that had wrapped around the section of John's brain that controlled speech. The doctor removed the chip, and that section, with every intention of replacing the damaged part of John's brain with compatible tissue. But Scorpius interrupted and killed the surgeon before he could repair the damage to John's brain.

"Ever since then, John has had to relearn how to speak, and to this day thinking about wormholes hurts his head. Actually saying the word . . . well, you saw what happened back on the planet."

Everyone was quite as the four guests tried to process what they'd just been told. As per usual, John Sheppard was the first of his team to speak.

"So," Sheppard tried to break the awkward silence that had descended. "you said you had a cousin in the Air Force?"

"Um, yeah," Crichton had been expecting all sorts of questions out of the four people across from him, but that question hadn't even made his list. "Last time I talked to him he was up for a promotion to Major, but I don't know if he ever got it."

"Really?" John perked up, finally starting to put the pieces of this puzzle together. "What's his name?"

"Cameron Mitchell."

"That's why you look so familiar." Sheppard nearly whooped with excitement.

"You know Cam?" Crichton asked excitedly. "Did he make Major?"

"I've met him a few times, but he's not a Major." Crichton's face fell, disappointed on behalf of his cousin. "He's a Lieutenant Colonel." Crichton looked up at Sheppard.

"Really? That's great."

"Wait." Rodney cut in. "Colonel Mitchell is John Crichton's cousin?" He asked Sheppard more than Crichton.

"Rodney," Sheppard said in an over-exaggeratedly calm voice. "Look at the man. He looks so much like Mitchell that they could pass for the same person."

"Huh," was Dr. McKay's elegant reply. "Well will you look at that."


End file.
